Could Recycling Food Help You to Cut Food Waste in Your Restaurant?
Posted by Lockhart Catering
on 22 March 2017
The tricky topic of restaurant food waste is one that we frequently cover on the Lockhart blog, as we’ve discussed smarter ways to reduce your food waste and how to maximise the shelf life of your fresh produce, as well as why it’s important to consider a sustainable approach to how you run your restaurant.
Statistics show that around a third of all food that is grown for human consumption is wasted – that’s a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes of food – so it’s more important than ever that we consider innovative methods of reducing food waste, as its cost is more than just financial.
The ideal situation would be that we reduce our food waste and surplus to the point where we only produce and consume exactly what we need, but food waste can occur at any stage of the journey, and some food waste is in fact inevitable – think egg shells, fruit skins and vegetable peelings. However, whilst there are methods of effectively reducing our food waste, food recycling offers a solution for the wasted food that is still left over.
But what do we mean by ‘food recycling’? The topic of food recycling, repurposing and redistribution is one that was discussed extensively at Waste Works 2017, an event that is part of the International Food & Drink Event and is dedicated to innovative approaches to reducing restaurant food wastage, but it can take many forms.
In this article we’re going to take a closer look at food recycling, and the many simple and ingenious ways that it can be carried out or utilised in restaurants to help you to play your part in minimising food waste.
Food recycling and repurposing: where do we begin?
In May 2016, WRAP released a report revealing that just 1.78% of edible surplus and waste food that the food and drink industry accounts for is redistributed for consumption by the poor or in need. A further portion of it is used for animal feed, but overall 73% of all food waste is destined only for landfill where it breaks down to produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas – yet as much as 56% of this waste could be perfectly avoidable.
The environmental impact of #foodwaste in the UK... #goodfoodmedia pic.twitter.com/6dJRQ7A3mG
— WRAP (@WRAP_UK) 16 March 2017
WRAP encourages restaurants and other foodservice businesses to make use of local food waste recycling services where these are available. The benefits of this go beyond reducing food waste itself, as separating your food waste using colour-coded bins could greatly reduce your overall restaurant waste and therefore reduce the costs of your refuse disposal.
Inspired by the WRAP report, The Grocer launched their Waste Not Want Not campaign to not only reduce food waste across the industry, but for the amount of food waste that is currently redistributed to be increased to 100,000 tonnes by 2018 – that equates to 100 million extra meals. The campaign also puts pressure on the government to incentivise food redistribution across the supply chain.
But of course, the challenge is where to get started on recycling food in your own restaurant or food business. There are several initiatives in the UK to collect and redistribute edible surplus and waste food directly to those who need it, such as City Harvest London and FareShare, as well as projects such as The Real Junk Food Project which runs ‘Pay As You Feel’ cafes around the UK, serving meals made from donated surplus food. Depending on where you are located, you may be able to take advantage of such a service or project to proactively save a usable portion of your food waste from going in the bin.
Then, there are the creative ways to repurpose and recycle food waste in your own restaurant kitchen. As previously mentioned, some food waste cannot be salvaged – for instance, other than separating and sending to a local food recycling facility, you can’t do too much about food that has been left on plates by customers, although you can reduce portion sizes if you notice that certain dishes are frequently not being finished and also encourage diners to take home their leftovers in take out containers.
But with a little extra imagination and inspiration, you could make use of much of your wasted food. For example:
• Vegetable peelings can be saved and used to make stocks, or used for garnishing
• Vegetable trimmings such as carrot tops can be added to pesto or herbal sauces
• Meat trimmings or past-their-best vegetables can be added to pies, stews, curries or soups
• Overripe fruits can be transformed into homemade jams, jellies and sauces, added to smoothies and ice cream, or juiced
• Egg whites can be saved and added to sour cocktails or smoothies for a boost of protein, or used to make dishes such as egg fried rice
• Stale bread can be used for toast, made into breadcrumbs or croutons, used in dishes such as ‘migas’ - a Spanish breakfast dish of bread fried with oil, vegetables and spices, or sent to a local brewery for use in their beers
Then, there are the companies that are already recycling food waste into ready-to-eat commercial products, such as ChicP, a brand of hummus created from surplus vegetables, Spare Fruit, which creates crisps from ‘fresh rescued fruit’, and Toast Ale beer, which is made from surplus bread.
Using these products in your restaurant or food service business will only underline your commitment to reducing food waste and recycling food, and don’t forget to point out your efforts in your restaurant menu, so that your customers know they’re supporting a sustainable and socially and environmentally-conscious business.
Do you recycle food in your restaurant, or will you be making more of a conscious effort to do so? What are your favourite ways to repurpose surplus food in your restaurant? We’d love to hear from you, so leave us a comment below or send us a tweet @BunzlLockhart.
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